June 2013 Housing Starts in British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 9, 2013) - Housing starts in British Columbia's urban areas1 were trending at 23,398 units in June compared to 21,916 in May according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)2of housing starts.

"The trend in housing starts picked up in June," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's Regional Economist for British Columbia. "The trend in single-detached housing starts has been stable near the 7,000 mark for the past five months, while the trend in multiple-family starts increased to 16,424 in June."

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can be quite variable from one month to the next.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 29,346 units in June, up from 20,977 in May.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

2 All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

To view the tables accompanying this press release please click on the following links: